PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Members of the Aroostook Shrine Club will soon hold their first ever Spring Basket Festival, which they hope will become a fun, family oriented tradition.
Two of the baskets to be included in the Aroostook Shrine Club’s upcoming Spring Basket Festival are a summer themed prize basket donated by Blair McCartney and family (left) and ice fishing gear from Ben’s Trading Post. (Melissa Lizotte)
Much like the St. Apollonia Dental Clinic’s Festival of Trees held during the holiday season, the concept of the Spring Basket Festival is rather simple. Local families, businesses and organizations donate and display baskets with prizes based on a chosen theme. During the festival, folks can buy raffle tickets for whichever baskets they would like to win.
The Spring Basket Festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 30, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 31, at the Aroostook Shrine Club building at 390 Houlton Road in Presque Isle.
Aroostook Shrine Club member and event organizer Blair McCartney said he and his wife were inspired to create a spring fundraiser for the club after attending the Anah Shriners’ Festival of Trees in Bangor.
“Our goal was to get 25 baskets registered and so far we have at least 45,” McCartney said. “There’s been a lot of excitement from the community. Everyone we’ve talked to has been very supportive.”
The Aroostook Shrine Club has seen 45 baskets donated thus far for its first Spring Basket Festival, including a Vera Bradley beach bag with beach items donated by club member Betsy Fitzherbert (right) and ice fishing items donated by Ben’s Trading Post. (Melissa Lizotte)
The largest basket of prizes, valued at $883, was donated by the Aroostook Centre Mall and includes children’s books, clothing, jewelry and gift certificates. Other prize baskets include a Vera Bradley beach bag and products, and a Bath & Body Works gift bag, both donated by store employee and Shrine Club member Betsy Fitzherbert and valued at $185 and $150, respectively. Local companies such as S.W. Collins, Huber Engineered Woods, Mars Hill Pharmacy, Ben’s Trading Post and Cloukey’s Auto Sales also have signed on as basket donors.
Registration for basket donors closes on March 20. The Shrine Club will live stream the ticket drawings on their Facebook page after the close of the March 31 event and also award the top three basket entries based on creativity.
Donors can choose whether they want to enter a more traditional Easter basket or a more unique “basket.” The unique entries thus far include the Aroostook Centre Mall’s potato barrel, a rubbermaid container of summer-themed toys donated by the McCartney family, and the Vera Bradley beach bag.
The largest basket to be included in the Aroostook Shrine Club’s Spring Basket Festival (right) comes from the Aroostook Centre Mall and includes gift certificates, clothing, jewelry and children’s books valued at $883. Club member and Bath & Body Works employee Betsy Fitzherbert contributed the Bath & Body Works gift basket. (Melissa Lizotte)
Admission to attend the Spring Basket Festival is free and basket tickets cost 50 cents each. Proceeds from the festival will benefit the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Springfield and Boston, Massachusetts. The club will provide snacks during the event and children will be able to get their pictures taken with the Easter bunny and meet the Anah Shrine clowns.
The Aroostook Shrine Club is an all-volunteer organization that has 380 members throughout Aroostook County and is part of the Bangor-based Anah Shriners. After the Spring Basket Festival, the group’s next big fundraiser will be the Anah Shrine Circus at The Forum in Presque Isle on May 2, 3 and 4.
“The Spring Basket Festival is a great way for us to show the community a little more about what we do as Shriners,” McCartney said. “Our goal is to have the event continue to grow, maybe even to the point that it outgrows the club building in a few years. We hope lots of people come out and have some fun.”
For more information or to register baskets for the festival, contact McCartney at 694-4525 or blairmccartney@msn.com.
